by - Toyota’s plant in Japan is delayed due to the slow growth in demand for electric vehicles, which turned out to be less than expected.
- The delay of the battery production plant in Fukuoka Prefecture may affect the planned date of its commissioning in 2028.
- The next generation of Toyota electric vehicles may have a range of up to 620 miles (1,000 km).
Toyota is hitting the brakes – just a little – on one of its key electric vehicle infrastructure projects. While the company still plans to move forward with a new battery manufacturing plant, construction will not begin as soon as expected. This pause was made possible after Toyota revised its electric vehicle strategy.
The plant was to be located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, and according to Governor Seitaro Hattori, an agreement on the exact location was to be finalized in April. This schedule is now delayed until the fall. The plant was supposed to start operations in 2028, but the delay may also push that date back.
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Toyota still plans to build the facility, reports say, but the company is currently re-evaluating what exactly will be manufactured there. Initially, the plant was planned to produce batteries for the next generation of Toyota electric vehicles, some of which have a range of up to 620 miles (1,000 km).
This change reflects a broader reassessment of Toyota’s ambitions in the field of electric vehicles. While electric car sales worldwide are still growing, they are not accelerating as rapidly as some automakers previously predicted. This mismatch between forecasts and reality is now prompting.
In 2022, Toyota announced its intention to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles annually by 2026. This number has been reduced to 1 million in 2023 and is soon to be reduced again to 800,000 units. The company is not giving up on electric vehicles by any means, it is simply adjusting expectations in a market that turns out to be more challenging and less predictable than initially assumed.
Earlier this month, Toyota established a new subsidiary in China for Lexus, which will design and manufacture electric vehicles and batteries at a plant in. The plant will be located in Shanghai and will manufacture several models exclusively for the Chinese market.
